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As Easter approaches I begin to gear up for the food traditions we have in my family. Sometimes I get a bit of a head start and so I decided to back Kolach this weekend. Kolach is a sweet festival bread that is filled with different types of fillings. See how I make this bread at Nate's Kitchen by clicking the link below!

The recipe comes from my Grandmother who was Slovakian. Sadly she passed away in the Fall of last year so making Kolach this time was a little bitter sweet. But making traditional food is what connects us to our past and our loved ones. In fact the message of Easter encourages us that even though death may come, there can be hope in resurection!

Our fertile eggs have arrived!! Sadly three out of the 14 that shipped are cracked so those have to be thrown out. The rest, 11 in total are now ready for the incubator! Start the clock! In 21 days we will have chicks!

We had so much fun last year hatching out chickens that we wanted to try to do it again this year. The only trouble is our broody hen seems to be uninterested in sitting on any eggs. I tried to "induce" her but putting her in a box with some eggs and she would sit on them for a while but not continuously. As it turns out a chicken CANNOT be persuaded like this to set on the eggs. It's up to her to decide and if she's not interested, it's NO DICE! So we're moving on to a different method, a table top incubator. Enjoy the video!

Just the other day one of our Auracana ladies decided to roost in our apple tree. This is actually a normal thing for a chicken! After all it is a bird and it's instinct is to roost as high as possible on whatever it can find to escape from predators. She spent much of the day here and then flew back down to the ground. Enjoy!

Though many people may not know it the process of making your own buttermilk at home could not be more simple and easy! Start by saving a few tablespoons of buttermilk from the store. Then scald (heat to 180) about a quart of fresh milk and let cool to 80-90 degrees. Stir in the few tablespoons of old buttermilk and then pour everything into a sterilized jar. A mason jar works fine that you have filled with boiling water and then emptied or a glass jar from a local dairy. Set this aside undisturbed overnight and in the morning the live cultures in the old buttermilk will have taken up residence in the new milk, creating what essentially is a soft yoghurt. You'll know because the milk will appear to have gelled. If it has not gelled yet then leave it out for a few more hours until it does, then label it with the date and put it in the fridge. This can be done over and over again always saving a few tablespoons from the old batch so always save a little leftover each time!